Retired tennis star John Millman has been discussing the decision not to give Arina Rodionova a wildcard for the Australian Open.
Millman has been speaking with the ABC Tennis podcast.
So, what has the player who recently hung his rackets up said about Rodionova? Let’s take a closer look…
What John Millman has said about Arina Rodionova
Well, it’s fair to say that the player who defeated Roger Federer at the US Open in 2018 isn’t very impressed.
Rodionova will be putting her feet up for the next fortnight. Bizarrely, she was overlooked for an Australian Open wildcard.
Given that she’s the number one ranked Australian player it seems really strange that Rodionova won’t be playing in Melbourne.
Millman has been left stunned by the decision to overlook the 34-year-old and has defended the player’s corner.
He told the ABC Tennis podcast: “You can’t be Australia’s top-ranked player in female tennis and be overlooked… I am a bit baffled.
“It came down in the end to Arina and Dasha. I don’t think it should’ve even come down to that because they should’ve been the first two that were given a wildcard.
“Rodionova has gone out there and shown an unbelievable appetite for hard work and winning matches, and she’s done it the hard way.”
Rodionova has a right to be gutted by this decision
It was very good of Millman to speak so kindly about Rodionova given that he had a big announcement of his own.
The 34-year-old has called time on his career after he too was overlooked for a wildcard for the tournament.
Millman claimed a big win over Federer in 2018. It was about as good as it got for him in Grand Slam events.
Rodionova has reached a career-high of 105 in the world – which is hardly spectacular. However, as the Australian number one, she should be at the tournament.
In our view, it makes very little sense. Indeed, itsuggests that the wildcard committee have little faith in Australian tennis when it comes to their female players at the moment.
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